Dappa Dan

Petterd and Dunn aren't quite right... Johnson I'm not sure about... I haven't been following very closely... That squad, it's not the final one... Do we have a bench of 6 or 8?

I can't think of their names now, but we had a couple that had suspect injury histories. I think Grimes sat out much of last year didn't he? Sylvia had injury issues beforehand from memory... but I could be wrong. Moloney is an obvious one... What I was referring to was the fact that if a player is prone to injuries... chronic ones like Rivers', Sylvia's, and Moloney's surely there's some evidence ofg it in the screening that comes in the year before drafting... My point is, I wonder if recruiters look at a player and see resilience as a big plus. I've always said Carroll is one of our best at taking the biggest hits, and coming up every week playing a fairly consistent brand of footy (if not dazzling) Every second week last season I thought he was out for a month after copping big hits in the ribs, head, back etc etc... And besides JMac, and maybe Jones he's probably our only player that is that resilient WHILE ALSO being tough as old boots (White, Yze stand the test of time but are regarded as more outside players)... I'd love to know what the recruiters look for, and more importantly what order it goes in when putting togther their most-wanted list... And how much being injury prone plays a part... Maybe they look at Judd and don't want to fal for the same trap the Hawks and Saints fell for looking at his shoulders...

I've always thought his kicking will not only improve with age and maturity, but it's something the right coach and forward-line can exploit, if they use their brains... And hey... Of the current list, there aren't many that can roost a ball from inside the square and have it go through as regularly as he does. Maybe Bater? Definitely Sylvia if fit...

Sometimes I wonder.... I've liked our recruiting over the last few years, but I wonder how much thought CAC and others put into whether or not players are injury prone. Or to put it more clearly, how seriously they consider it... I'm sure they do all their homework so as not to get a turkey, but if a player does have a history, do they just say "bargain" and take them with a smile, safe in the knowledge they've gotten them at a reduced price?

Oh god.... Not this again.... It just keeps rearing its ugly head... Even the he who will not be named talk has died down over the years... But this just pops up over and over...

Guys. Seriously. I've missed every one of these by being away at juuuust the wrong times... Wish I could be there. And good luck... 'Land and 'Ology forever....

Welcome red&blue (I can't believe that name wasn't taken! ) The article in the Hun was similar. PG always impresses me in the media. He's like Punter... Always on the front foot, and never seems to embarrass the club... The situation with ND was the first tme he's been questioned, and I thought he did as well as he could do with a bad situation. So important... especially now.

Well... He IS quicker... but yes. You're right.

Sylvia has been ok for a while now. I still see him out, but out of those three it seems he's the better behaved? Maybe it's because he knows he's not out of the woods as a player yet... But from all accounts he's been responsible lately. In the instances when I've seen hi out, he certainly seems to be living the high life, but I don't see him staggering... mostly I see him in the latest threads, around a bevy of beauties, and in control.

Yeah. What a great way to start the new footy year. Also noticed how good the Crows are. Even when they're in a lull they're dangerous opposition. The old hatred still applies of course, but in the last few years I can't help but respect that club, and its players. Yes they have money, but still... And hey, one of their rejects has come in and is now one of our better performers on the track, fitness wise at least.

Training future KP forwards as defenders has been used to GREAT effect in the past. Juice was played all over the place at Sandy... One of ND's strengths was that he was a good developer of players... He certainly had Juice playing a variety of roles so that he could be more flexible in the future. We have the luxury of time with Michael... It's not at all "foolish" to use him in this way. ANd if you read my above post and respond to it, you may want to consider the crowded nature of our forwardline. Putting Juice in there for one quarter a game every so often is not necessarily the best thing for his overall development. He's still a long way off dominating the competition just yet.

When I saw Newton down back I went "yikes". But the more I think about it the more it makes sense. Rather than clutter up a forward line containing Robbo, Neitz, Miller, swapping with Bate, Sylvia and Dunn... WHy not teach him a KP defender mentality while we still can, before we're RELYING on him to play as a target. It'll teach him the mentality of a defender which will help him to combat players like this, as well as make him still accountable if he's ever dragged up the ground by his opposition.

DD. Loving your work. You'd better get busy in the season proper... This is thread of the year so far. Based on what people have said, I'm the most excited I've been yet for this season...

Actually I think we're trying to recruit some small forwards with a bit of pace...

Hadn't thought of that. Though it's wrth noting that absolutely NO-ONE will be surprised if we're bundled out. We're favourites for the spoon for god's sake. Yes it's an opportunity to gain a few hings and take a few steps, but if you look at it closely, we have absolutely NOTHING to lose here.

I read this article with "burnout" having the meaning of over-training. I've read a couple of times that Brock has been in the stands during training. Gotta say, I'm a little relieved.

http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,2...1-11088,00.html Veeeeery iiiiinteresting... The demons are starved for success lately, and a big NAB cup would go a long way to increasing our profile and member support. If the Cats don't turn up hungry, we should have more than a sniff... Looking forward to a week and a half from now.

Great analysis DOF and Grazman... Thanks for the effort... ANd DOF... Well done on finding demonland, and welcome. Look forward to a lot more from you in the future.

Man... This sucks. I'm just waiting for the first "Bohdan strikes again."

There was an article in recent days from the HUN, or maybe AFL.com that describes Kepler Bradley getting knocked out at a praccy overseas. Harvey was thrilled... If a player puts his head over the ball every time you go in, then you're sure he'll do it when it matters. I don't know about you guys but in those split-second moments where you're wondering whether or not it's your turn, if you're standing next to an Yze-like player, you're just not sure whther he'll go get the pill, and you go in yourself. Yze's impressive games-streak came about MOSTLY because he has a knack for self-preservation. It's not necessarily a bad thing... I'm not going to question an AFL footballers idea of what is hard... I think Walls was right when he said that every player who runs out onto the park has courage, and that there are many different forms of courage (gut-running, head over the ball, courage to make a low-percentage play). But I will say this. Give me Clint Bartram, Brock McLean or Nathan Jones any day of the week. Footy is so often about the intangibles, and the mental side... these players are courageous, and they form the fabric of a winning, no-surrender culture for our future... In so far as that's concerned, I like it when they play because they make the softer outsiders walk taller. We needed them in 2000 and we need them now.

:o:O:O Completely agree with the post Franky... But wow, that last sentence... I'm not sure I can go that far.

This coming from the guy who hates David Neitz. You have the guts to question a supporter's love for their club because they want Chris Judd to play in the red and blue??? What are you on occo, and can I get some? occo... Jesus... The worst thing possible? Howcome you can't just rephrase statements like this? Why not just say the price was too high? I reckon when it was announced we were in the running I had my concerns about trading away so much youth. Let's say 2 top 20 picks and someone like Petterd. That's 750 good games from what looks like good players in exchange for 100-150 from a superstar and modern-day-champion. I couldn't figure out which option to take to be honest. It was an ENORMOUS risk. If Judd had a nasty injury, or one that took his all-important pace away, then it would have been a tragedy for the demons. In the end I had to go to the history books and have a look at the instances where a confirmed star of the game was traded for an assortment of "good" players. In SO MANY cases you read a bunch of no-namers next to the star's name and you ask yourself "why did they do that?" The Judd trade would have been a risk, no doubt. But one the club really needed to take. No disrespect to Maric, Grimes, Morton or Petterd but they are only a hop, skip and a jump from complete unknowns. They have credentials, sure, but if Trav taught us anything it's that credentials aren't anything when compared to Norm-Smiths, Brownlows, premierships medallions etc etc... I wanted Judd for his experience, the fact he's coming into his prime as a footballer, for the fact he'd teach our all-important younger guys a thing or two... He represented change, and a seriousness about changing direction. If he fails at Carltank, well that's a bullet we were lucky to dodge, but I would have traded for him. I think the next few years are going to be tough for us. We're going to have to watch a young midfield get smashed from pillar to post for about 3 years before we see them gain the ascendancy in their early twenties, at which time Judd will still be in his mid-to-late twenties and he'll have Murphy, Kreuzer and Gibbs coming into their own. During this time we're going to have to replace White, Neitz, Robbo, JMac and others. They have their heirs in place, but they are a LONG way from proving themselves as solid as those warhorses. In about 2015, when Judd begins his decline and the 2007 draft picks begin to gather pace... THAT'S when we'll be thanking the gods we didn't trade. But not in the near future. And some article descibing Judd's groins as hurting a bit isn't going to convince me we made the right choice. He'll be back before you know it, and he'll start smashing teams again. The Champions always do.

:D

I reckon a see-through permanent fence wouldn't be the worst thing. I always felt like a big stone wall wasn't the best advertising for the club. With a game on, I reckon it would be much more inviting, and footy would be more of a presence on Beach Road. While I'm sure Joffa and his ferals would most likely be kept out (this is bad, why?) they're not exactly asking for a huge sum of money at the gate. And they usually open it up after the start of the last quarter.

It depends on who he's displacing... It'd be a shame to drop an in-form and hard-working Maric from a pocket just because we can't find a home for Ooze. Likewise, if Buckley or Bode or one of those guys is kicking ass running out of the backline, I'd hope they'd persevere with them as long as possible... The fact he's in the leadership group suggests he's going to be played as often as possible, just like under Daniher. But I just don't see him having the legs for the midfield anymore, as much as he smashed them through the guts at Sandy. I'm going to be boring and say he'll probably end up filling whatever hole needs to be filled in the small-man department. Playing a loose rebounding defender role, or a forward pocket. So nothing new here.